Changes

A '''camera''' is a device used to capture still or moving images focused by a lens and preserving those images on light-sensitive film, video tape, or in digital format.   

A '''camera''' is a device used to capture still or moving images focused by a lens and preserving those images on light-sensitive film, video tape, or in digital format.   

==History==

==History==

[[Image:Giroux camera 1839.jpg|right||200px|thumb|Alphonse Giroux's Dagerrotype camera, 1839.]]

[[Image:Giroux camera 1839.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Alphonse Giroux's Dagerrotype camera, 1839.]]

[[File:Kodak Brownie cameras.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Eastman Kodak Company (Rochester, New York) Brownie cameras, (''l-r'') Model 2, 1901, Model 3, 1908]]

Arguably the first camera of any kind is the ''camera obscura'', a Latin term meaning "dark chamber".  In its original form the ''camera obscura'' was either a room or a box; a pin hole on one side allowed light to enter, and the laws of optics would transmit the image of whatever was outside to the interior, where it would be projected in true color on the opposite wall, albeit upside-down.  About 400 B.C. a Chinese philosopher named Mo-Ti made the first mention of the ''camera obscura'' in history.<ref>http://www.obscurajournal.com/history.php</ref>  This was followed by unrelated experiments done by [[Aristotle]] (Greece, 384-322 BC) and Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham (Egypt, c.965 - 1039), who both recognized the optical qualities of the device; by 1544 Dutch scientist Reinerus Gemma-Frisius safely used it to observe a solar eclipse.<ref>http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html</ref>  A convex lens was first placed on the opening about 1644, at which point it became a drawing aid for artists and an astronomical device, in addition to its attraction as a public curiosity which lasted to the end of the 19th century.   

Arguably the first camera of any kind is the ''camera obscura'', a Latin term meaning "dark chamber".  In its original form the ''camera obscura'' was either a room or a box; a pin hole on one side allowed light to enter, and the laws of optics would transmit the image of whatever was outside to the interior, where it would be projected in true color on the opposite wall, albeit upside-down.  About 400 B.C. a Chinese philosopher named Mo-Ti made the first mention of the ''camera obscura'' in history.<ref>http://www.obscurajournal.com/history.php</ref>  This was followed by unrelated experiments done by [[Aristotle]] (Greece, 384-322 BC) and Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham (Egypt, c.965 - 1039), who both recognized the optical qualities of the device; by 1544 Dutch scientist Reinerus Gemma-Frisius safely used it to observe a solar eclipse.<ref>http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html</ref>  A convex lens was first placed on the opening about 1644, at which point it became a drawing aid for artists and an astronomical device, in addition to its attraction as a public curiosity which lasted to the end of the 19th century.   

===Manual-focus===

===Manual-focus===

This type of camera is exactly as the name implies: the photographer must make a physical adjustment to the lens or other part of the camera to get the subject into focus.  The oldest film cameras, such as daguerreotypes, and their view camera descendants had a large portion of the camera sliding forward or back (such as on a rail) to adjust the focus.  Later models appearing around the turn of the 20th century, such as monorail and field cameras, adjusted the focus by sliding the lens on a rail.  In practice, view cameras are large and cumbersome, with tripod mounts a mandatory accessory, but the end result is a highly-detailed, very crisp photograph, in part due to the medium and large format film used.  One of these cameras, a very portable, medium-format camera nicknamed the "press camera" due to those who used it for newspapers and publications, enjoyed widespread use and popularity throughout much of the 20th century until supplanted by SLRs; photographic enthusiasts still use them for their superior image quality.

This type of camera is exactly as the name implies: the photographer must make a physical adjustment to the lens or other part of the camera to get the subject into focus.  The oldest film cameras, such as daguerreotypes, and their view camera descendants had a large portion of the camera sliding forward or back (such as on a rail) to adjust the focus.  Later models appearing around the turn of the 20th century, such as monorail and field cameras, adjusted the focus by sliding the lens on a rail.  In practice, view cameras are large and cumbersome, with tripod mounts a mandatory accessory, but the end result is a highly detailed, very crisp photograph, in part due to the medium and large format film used.  One of these cameras, a very portable, medium-format camera nicknamed the "press camera" due to those who used it for newspapers and publications, enjoyed widespread use and popularity throughout much of the 20th century until supplanted by SLRs; photographic enthusiasts still use them for their superior image quality.

London Stereoscopic Company of London produced the first model of a "twin-lens reflex" camera for commercial distribution in 1885.  What this meant for photographers was a more convenient way to take photographs: two lenses were pointed at the subject; one lens on a direct path from the subject to the film; the other acting as a viewfinder, and the photographer operating a single dial to bring both into focus prior to the shutter being snapped.  Despite some flaws, such as a mechanical mirror which flipped out of the way when the shutter was released, causing blurs onto some pictures, this type of camera was considered a revolution in photography, leading to smaller sizes to rival the Brownie and one of the best cameras ever marketed: 1929's Rolleiflex, by the Franke & Heidecke Company of Germany.  

London Stereoscopic Company of London produced the first model of a "twin-lens reflex" camera for commercial distribution in 1885.  What this meant for photographers was a more convenient way to take photographs: two lenses were pointed at the subject; one lens on a direct path from the subject to the film; the other acting as a viewfinder, and the photographer operating a single dial to bring both into focus prior to the shutter being snapped.  Despite some flaws, such as a mechanical mirror which flipped out of the way when the shutter was released, causing blurs onto some pictures, this type of camera was considered a revolution in photography, leading to smaller sizes to rival the Brownie and one of the best cameras ever marketed: 1929's Rolleiflex, by the Franke & Heidecke Company of Germany.  

== See also ==

== See also ==

*[[World Famous Pictures]]

*[[Subminiature camera]]

*[[Press camera]]

==References==

==References==